# Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
**Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa** is a 2013 American hidden-camera comedy directed by [Jeff Tremaine](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-tremaine), in which [Johnny Knoxville](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-knoxville) plays his recurring Jackass character Irving Zisman, an 86-year-old widower who takes his 8-year-old grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) on a road trip across America while pranking real, unsuspecting bystanders with hidden cameras.[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa) It was the first theatrical film from the Jackass team to combine a scripted narrative with hidden-camera footage, and it became a commercial hit, grossing $160.9 million worldwide on a $15 million production budget.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jackass-Presents-Bad-Grandpa)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 25, 2013 (wide, US) by Paramount Pictures; 92 minutes; rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language, some graphic nudity, and brief drug use[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jackass-Presents-Bad-Grandpa) |
| Cast | Johnny Knoxville as Irving Zisman; Jackson Nicoll as Billy[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa) |
| Filmmakers | Directed by Jeff Tremaine; written by Knoxville, Spike Jonze, and Tremaine; produced by Paramount, Dickhouse Productions, and MTV Films[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa) |
| Box office | $102,003,019 domestic, $160,903,019 worldwide, against a $15,000,000 production budget; opening weekend $32,055,177[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jackass-Presents-Bad-Grandpa) |
| Reception | 61% on the Tomatometer from 109 reviews; 60% on the Popcornmeter from 100,000+ audience ratings[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa) |
| Makeup | Knoxville spent three hours a day in makeup, five when wearing prosthetics front and back; the makeup effects received an Academy Award nomination[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) • [5](https://ir.paramount.com/static-files/60bad425-a14b-41bc-8871-04f2570f945f) |
| Follow-up | *Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5*, an unrated collection of new pranks and bonus scenes, released on Blu-ray[5](https://ir.paramount.com/static-files/60bad425-a14b-41bc-8871-04f2570f945f) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and format
The film follows Irving Zisman, a profane octogenarian whose wife has just died, as he drives his grandson Billy across the country to deliver the boy to his estranged father after the boy's mother is jailed.[6](https://www.soundandvision.com/content/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa) • [7](https://thecriticalcritics.com/reviews/movie_review-bad_grandpa/) Along the way the pair encounters male strippers, children's beauty pageant contestants and their mothers, funeral home mourners, and biker bar patrons, all filmed without their knowledge.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa)
Earlier Jackass films had been compilations of standalone stunts performed by the regular cast. Bad Grandpa instead follows what reviewers called the *Borat* model: a basic scripted plot and characters serve as the backdrop for outrageous set pieces played out before unwitting members of the public.[6](https://www.soundandvision.com/content/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa) Director Jeff Tremaine said the crew always knew the film would be a narrative with hidden cameras, but the narrative turned out more dominant than planned because the pranks were built directly into the story beats.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) Knoxville said the crew shot more than double the material that reached the final cut.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass)
## Production
Irving Zisman had been a recurring Jackass character since 2001, and Tremaine said he first considered spinning the character into his own film after the second Jackass movie in 2006; Paramount later asked whether they were still considering it, and serious development began about two years before release.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) Knoxville described the character as drawing mannerisms from his father but being mostly "a more perverted version" of himself.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass)
The production was demanding. Knoxville spent three hours a day in old-age makeup, rising to five hours on days when he wore prosthetics front and back, which he wrote out of the film after the first few times.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) Tremaine called the setup a terrible idea from a production standpoint: half of each day went to makeup, the story required an eight-year-old lead, and everything was shot in the real world with hidden cameras.[8](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jeff-tremaine-interview-jackass-bad-grandpa-sweat/) Knoxville and Nicoll had worked together previously on *Fun Size*, and Knoxville recommended the boy for his fearlessness.[2](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass) Some filming took place in North Carolina, where lax hidden-camera laws and state tax incentives suited the production.[9](https://indyweek.com/news/culture/screen/notes-raleigh-set-bad-grandpa/)
## Reception and box office
The film opened at No. 1 at the United States box office in its first weekend, ending the four-week run of *Gravity* at the top.[10](https://globalnews.ca/news/925576/what-the-critics-are-saying-bad-grandpa/) Its opening weekend of $32,055,177 accounted for 31.4% of a domestic total of $102,003,019, and the worldwide total of $160,903,019 was 10.7 times the production budget.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jackass-Presents-Bad-Grandpa) Paramount executives attributed the film's audience, which skewed older than the franchise's usual young male base, to the core Jackass demographic aging up and to the older title character.[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-bad-grandpa-irving-zisman-movie-20131028-story.html)
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 61% from 109 critics and 60% from audiences.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa) Reviewers divided over the hybrid format. Neil Genzlinger of *The New York Times* wrote that the mix of scripted narrative and found footage works better than it might seem, while Betsy Sharkey of the *Los Angeles Times* noted, with some surprise, that the film has a story with a beginning, middle, and end, acting, emotion, and empathy.[10](https://globalnews.ca/news/925576/what-the-critics-are-saying-bad-grandpa/) Several critics singled out Nicoll: [Amy Nicholson](https://www.edgepedia.org/amy-nicholson) of *L.A. Weekly* praised his deadpan composure, and Perri Nemiroff of Collider wrote that his sass and vulgarity were delivered with well-timed natural comedic ability.[10](https://globalnews.ca/news/925576/what-the-critics-are-saying-bad-grandpa/) Detractors found the pranks mean-spirited or derivative; Jay Stone of Postmedia News called punking bystanders too easy, and Tim Robey of *The Telegraph* judged parts of the film unfunny and indifferently timed.[10](https://globalnews.ca/news/925576/what-the-critics-are-saying-bad-grandpa/) The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus allowed that the film offers "the timeless pleasures of seeing an old man get his privates stuck in a vending machine" even if it is never quite as funny as it wants to be.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa)
## Legacy and follow-up
The male strip club sequence, in which a drunken Irving exposes himself to dancers and patrons, became the film's signature prank; Knoxville recalled that one targeted patron, a welterweight boxer, said he nearly put his hands on him.[12](https://www.thedailybeast.com/johnny-knoxville-on-how-he-pulled-off-bad-grandpas-most-hilarious-raunchiest-prank) The film's makeup effects received an Academy Award nomination, a first for the franchise.[5](https://ir.paramount.com/static-files/60bad425-a14b-41bc-8871-04f2570f945f)
An unrated companion film, *Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5*, arrived on Blu-ray with new pranks, over 40 minutes of additional footage, and appearances by [Spike Jonze](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-jonze) as "Gloria" and [Catherine Keener](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-keener) as Irving's wife "Ellie".[5](https://ir.paramount.com/static-files/60bad425-a14b-41bc-8871-04f2570f945f) The strip club sequence was later replayed in the 2026 farewell film *Jackass: Best and Last*, where the Daily Beast described it as a classic gem of the series.[13](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/jackass-best-and-last-cinemas-wildest-franchise-bids-a-gonzo-farewell/)
## References
1. [Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa)
2. [Interview: Johnny Knoxville & Jeff Tremaine Talk "Bad Grandpa", Complex](https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jennifer-wood/johnny-knoxville-jeff-tremaine-bad-grandpa-jackass)
3. [Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jackass-Presents-Bad-Grandpa)
4. [Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jackass_presents_bad_grandpa)
5. [Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5 press release, Paramount Pictures](https://ir.paramount.com/static-files/60bad425-a14b-41bc-8871-04f2570f945f)
6. [Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Sound & Vision](https://www.soundandvision.com/content/jackass-presents-bad-grandpa)
7. [Movie Review: Bad Grandpa (2013), The Critical Movie Critics](https://thecriticalcritics.com/reviews/movie_review-bad_grandpa/)
8. [Jeff Tremaine interview: Jackass, Bad Grandpa, sweat, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jeff-tremaine-interview-jackass-bad-grandpa-sweat/)
9. [Notes from the Raleigh set of Bad Grandpa, Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/culture/screen/notes-raleigh-set-bad-grandpa/)
10. [What the critics are saying: 'Bad Grandpa', Global News](https://globalnews.ca/news/925576/what-the-critics-are-saying-bad-grandpa/)
11. ['Bad Grandpa:' How old is it skewing?, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-bad-grandpa-irving-zisman-movie-20131028-story.html)
12. [Johnny Knoxville on How He Pulled Off 'Bad Grandpa's' Most Hilarious, Raunchiest Prank, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/johnny-knoxville-on-how-he-pulled-off-bad-grandpas-most-hilarious-raunchiest-prank)
13. ['Jackass: Best and Last' Is a Gonzo Franchise Farewell, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/jackass-best-and-last-cinemas-wildest-franchise-bids-a-gonzo-farewell/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Television-, game-, and toy-derived film entries › Television series adaptations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license